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📨 THEKNGDOM | August 16th, 2025

Passage 📖: Matthew 22:15–22

📺 Want to watch the full teaching? Click here to view the August 16th, 2025 Lesson.

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👋 Introduction to Today’s Lesson

Hey friends,

Have you ever been put in a situation where the choice you were given… didn’t actually feel like a choice at all?

Where the options on the table were so narrow — so oversimplified — that neither felt right?

Maybe it was a workplace decision where you were told you had to either “get on board” with something you knew wasn’t right, or risk your job.

Maybe it was a family conflict where picking one side meant alienating the other.

Or maybe it was the endless tug-of-war of our culture — political, social, even spiritual — where every issue gets boiled down to this or that, and there’s no room for anything in between.

It’s frustrating.

Because deep down, you can feel there’s a bigger truth that doesn’t fit neatly into either option you’ve been handed.

But the world isn’t interested in nuance — it wants you to choose a side.

That’s exactly the kind of moment Jesus walks into in today’s passage.

The question He’s asked is meant to trap Him — to force Him into a false choice that will either ruin His credibility or put Him in danger.

But instead of playing by their rules… He changes the game entirely.

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⏪ Recap of Last Week’s Lesson (Matthew 21:33–22:14)

Last week, Jesus told two parables in the Temple courts — the Parable of the Tenants and the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.

Both carried a stinging message for Israel’s leaders: they had been entrusted with God’s Kingdom work, but instead of bearing fruit and welcoming His invitation, they resisted, rejected, and even killed His messengers.

The warning was clear — the Kingdom would be given to those who would honor the Son and bear its fruit.

And the invitation? It’s wide open — not just for the expected, but for everyone willing to come on God’s terms.

If you missed it, you can revisit the full lesson here: Click Here

📖 Matthew 22:15–22 (ESV)

Then the Pharisees went out and plotted how to trap Jesus in His words.

They sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know you are true and teach the way of God truthfully. You’re not swayed by others, because you don’t care about anyone’s opinion of you.

Tell us, then, what you think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the tax.”

They brought Him a denarius.

And Jesus said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

They said, “Caesar’s.”

Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away.

🧭 Context & Background

A Strange Alliance

The scene opens with an unlikely partnership: the Pharisees and the Herodians.

• The Pharisees were deeply religious nationalists, fiercely opposed to Rome’s occupation and its pagan influence.
  

• The Herodians were political loyalists to Herod’s dynasty, which ruled under Rome’s authority.

These two groups had little in common — in fact, they despised each other. But here, they are united by a shared goal: trap Jesus in His words and remove Him as a threat.

The Trap Question

They approach Jesus with a loaded question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

This isn’t about financial advice — it’s political dynamite. The “tax” in question was the poll tax (tributum capitis) — an annual fee every adult male had to pay directly to Rome as a sign of submission to Caesar.

The trap was simple but deadly:

• If Jesus said, “Yes, pay the tax,” He would be branded a Roman sympathizer, betraying Jewish hopes for liberation and losing the support of the people.
  

• If He said, “No, don’t pay,” He could be charged with sedition — a crime punishable by death under Roman law.

The Denarius

The coin used for this tax — the denarius — carried another layer of offense. It bore the image of Tiberius Caesar and an inscription that read: “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.”

For many Jews, even carrying such a coin was a violation of the command against graven images. It was a pocket-sized symbol of political oppression and blasphemy — Caesar’s claim to divine status.

✨ Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Don’t Let the World Dictate the Frame

The Pharisees and Herodians thought they had Jesus cornered with a binary question:

Caesar or God?

To answer either way would have been to step into their trap.

But Jesus refuses to play by their categories. He doesn’t just pick a side — He reframes the whole conversation in light of the Kingdom.

This is more than clever debate. It’s a Kingdom posture.

The world will constantly try to force us into false choices — ones that assume its categories are the ultimate categories:

• Political allegiance vs. faithfulness to Christ.
  

• Social approval vs. moral conviction.
  

• Career success vs. spiritual integrity.
  

• Compassion vs. truth.
  

Each one demands we “pick a side” as if those are the only two options, as if God’s wisdom couldn’t possibly cut across the lines we’ve drawn.

But Jesus shows us there’s a third way — one that honors God and keeps our integrity intact without being co-opted by the systems of the world.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

​​2️⃣ Give God What Belongs to Him

When Jesus says, “Give to God what is God’s,” He’s not just talking about coins.

It’s coins that bear Caesar’s image.

But it’s people that bear God’s image.

The religious leaders were meticulous about giving Caesar his due, but they were robbing God of what mattered most — His people. Instead of leading the crowds into deeper worship and obedience, they built barriers, twisted laws, and turned the Temple into a marketplace. They weren’t giving God what belonged to Him because they were keeping His image-bearers from Him.

This is the heart of the indictment:

You can pay taxes and still steal from God — by withholding the worship, trust, and obedience He is due, and by blocking others from offering the same.

For us today:

We might never think of ourselves as “keeping people from God,” but it can happen in subtle ways:

• When we make faith feel like an exclusive club people have to qualify for.
  

• When our personal preferences overshadow God’s priorities.
  

• When we neglect the relationships He’s entrusted to us instead of pointing them toward Him.

3️⃣ Live Like You Belong to God

When Jesus says, “Give to God what is God’s,” He’s not making a clever theological quip — He’s issuing a call to total allegiance.

The coin in their hand had Caesar’s face on it, so it belonged to Caesar. But what bears God’s image? You. Me. Every human being.

Genesis 1:27 says we were made in His image. That means every part of us — our mind, heart, body, gifts, and resources — is stamped with His ownership. We are not self-made. We are God-made.

So when Jesus says to give to God what is His, He’s not talking about a percentage, a tithe, or an offering — He’s talking about your whole self.

This is where the religious leaders were most guilty. They wore the robes, said the prayers, and held positions of spiritual authority… yet they lived as if their lives, influence, and power belonged to them. They were withholding themselves from God while pretending to represent Him.

For us today, this can be just as subtle.

We might say we belong to God, but live as if:

• Our schedule is ours to fill without asking Him.
  

• Our money is ours to spend without considering His Kingdom.
  

• Our relationships are ours to navigate without His wisdom.
  

• Our future is ours to plan without His direction.
  

To live like you belong to God means that every decision is filtered through the truth that you bear His image and exist for His purposes. It’s not about perfection — it’s about posture. It’s about waking up each day and saying, “God, I am Yours. All of me is Yours. Use me today however You will.”

Final Word

The trap in this passage wasn’t just political—it was about allegiance.

The Pharisees wanted to corner Jesus into choosing between loyalty to Rome or loyalty to God. But Jesus refuses to play by their categories. Instead, He reframes the question entirely:

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

Give to God what belongs to God.

We live in a world full of demands — taxes, deadlines, policies, expectations. Jesus’ wisdom shows us how to navigate them without losing ourselves.

Honor the rightful claims of the systems you live in. Pay the bill. Sign the form. File the taxes. Respect the law.

But remember — your truest allegiance is not to a flag, a company, or a paycheck.

The coin bore Caesar’s image.

You bear God’s.

And that changes everything.

Because while earthly systems can make legitimate claims on parts of your life, only God has a rightful claim to all of it — your heart, your mind, your relationships, your influence, your very breath.

The Pharisees failed at this. They wore the robes and held the titles, but they withheld themselves from God. They guarded their own power instead of giving Him the honor, obedience, and worship He was due — and in doing so, they kept others from Him, too.

So the question for us is this: Am I truly giving God what is His?

Not just the easy parts. Not just the leftovers. But my whole self.

Because living like you belong to Him isn’t an abstract idea — it’s a daily posture. It’s saying with your time, your words, and your choices:

“God, I am Yours. All of me is Yours. Use me today however You will.”

Live like you belong to Him — because you do.

Blessings,

Michael